Relating to the Hadd Write-Up

I first linked to the Hadd write-up over two years back. I haven't been serious about starting a new endurance training cycle since then (after that post I had IMAZ, Florida 70.3, and IMMoo ahead in my 2007 season).

The Hadd write-up uses percentage of VO2 Max (well, "VO2max") extensively. For now, I'm using this conversion to go from percentage of VO2 Max to percentage of Maximum Heart Rate:
% MHR = 0.64 * % VO2 Max + 37

I'm using 200 as my maximum heart rate, although it must be a bit higher.

So, from Hadd's references, I have:
o type I muscle fibers being trained from as low as 50% VO2 max pace, or heart rate 138
o type I muscle fibers being optimally trained at 70% VO2 max pace, or HR 164
o type IIa muscle fibers being maximally trained at 85% VO2 max pace, or HR 182

Based on HR max of 200 (OK, properly based on a lactate threshold of 181, but that's the line of the chart that has HR topping out at 201), Friel (in The Triathlete's Training Bible (Second Edition)) has as heart rate zones:
o zone 1: 121 to 154
o zone 2: 155 to 164
o zone 3: 165 to 173
o zone 4: 174 to 180
o zone 5a: 181 to 184
o zone 5b: 185 to 192
o zone 5c: 193 to 201
A few other of my markers mesh well with those zones, so I think they're pretty close. It appears that Friel and Hadd were reading some of the same research (top zone 2 corresponds with 70% VO2 Max, zone 5a corresponds with 85% VO2 Max).

For my 2007 season, I did 12 weeks of base in zone 1 and was slammed when I moved on to zone 2. I had two words for the end of low heart rate training, and they weren't "happy birthday".

Maffetone would have my heart rate go no higher than 140 during base (and that's generously giving the maximum adjustment of +5 to the simple 180 - age). That corresponds to 50.6% of VO2 Max. Data from other studies suggest, and personal experience confirms, that's not going to do much for me. I am stuck believing that the great Mark Allen just happened to have a heart rate that fit well with the adjusted average of Dr. Maffetone's research subjects. Amongst many other qualities I mean.

I suspect that I have a relatively high proportion of type IIa muscle fibers (goes with the middle distance build) and so I would willingly train to be sure that I get a lot out of them, even at the cost of some compromising of training of type I muscle fibers. (I entertain minor thoughts of a Wingate Test to estimate proportions of muscle fibers).

All of this is not to say that Hadd has it close enough to right for most people, or that my estimates of heart rate zones and % VO2 max correspondences are particularly accurate. It seems to me that one very nice thing about the Hadd style of base is that it emphasizes benchmarking and progression. If one starts with heart rates that are too low, one will eventually progress to more appropriate heart rates.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 0.67hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 1.1hr. treadmill run (Hadd benchmark test)

Recovery week, and first attempt at the benchmark test from the Hadd write-up

On Saturday I tried executing the basic elements of the test protocol on a treadmill at the gym. Treadmill use is definitely required for me - Cayman's temperature and humidity varies too much through the day and across the seasons for me to do good benchmarking outdoors conveniently.

On Sunday I arrived at gym opening at 8am (hydrated, a bit caffeinated, and unfed). The power was out, so the treadmills weren't functional. So I carried on with my morning feeding and caffeinating, returning to the gym in the early afternoon (as it turned out, power had been fully restored just after 9am).

The next bother was that the best treadmills were all taken (the gym has three different models of treadmill). I think the treadmill that I started the test on has less air circulation around it, and I'm not certain about its calibration. Worse, when I paused the treadmill the timer started counting down the pause time instead of keeping my split time. When one of the best treadmills came available I hopped over to it (and consequently had too long a rest break). Then through lack of focus I ran too short a third repeat. Must do better next time!

For someone with as high a maximum heartrate as mine (200+ beats per minute) here's the test protocol:
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 140 (me: 1.5 miles in 15:42)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 150 (me: 1.503 miles in 14:46)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 160 (me: 1.001 miles in 9:21 - oops)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 170 (me: 1.500 miles in 12:53)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 180 (me: 1.501 miles in 11:51)
Rest 90 seconds between repeats. Allow first 0.5 mile of the repeat to get heart rate up to target (to avoid overshooting and having to slow down).

As previously noted, I'm fat and slow. On the plus side, body composition changes should improve those times all on their own!

Eyeballing those numbers, I don't see the inflection point that one would look for in a Conconi test to identify one's lactate threshold. Not too surprising. My previous week's Wednesday run showed that my lactate threshold was over 172, and when I've been in better condition my lactate threshold has been well into the 180s. Further, the Conconi test may lack validity.

Next 3 weeks should feature nothing higher than zone 2, then another recovery and test week. I had 4 weeks of training prior to this test week, so in another 4 weeks there might be some aerobic improvement.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (threshold run)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)

On Sunday morning I volunteered at our social triathlon; here's Jenny's report on the event

On Wednesday's run I had an average heart rate of 172, which I count as the very upper limit of my zone 3. Not being close to falling-down-exhausted at the end of the run confirmed that my lactate threshold is significantly above 172.

Heart rate was not stable on Sunday; it drifted to the very middle of zone 2 by 90 minutes and would have gone into upper zone 2 if I hadn't dropped 0.1mph on the treadmill. Lots of base work to do!

This week will be a recovery week. On the weekend I'll do a benchmark test on the treadmill. After that I'll shift into base training proper.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/3)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)

Inflammation issues seem to be subsiding and heat acclimation has come into effect. Sunday's treadmill run was primarily zone 1; in the last 45 minutes I was bouncing in and out of the bottom of zone 2. I expect that I'll complete the drive to a 2 hour long run next weekend, and then have a recovery week.

Saturday afternoon I spectated at the annual Flowers Sea Swim. It's a big deal - large participation locally, increasing participation internationally, generous sponsorship and prizes, significant donation of event fees to local charity, and high ranking amongst open water swimming events world-wide. Thanks to Mr. Frank Flowers and his team of sponsors and volunteers for staging a wonderful event. Congratulations to Jenny, who put in a solid time as one of this year's 748 finishers!

Try-This-Tri Volunteer Report (June 14, 2009)

(Photo Credit: Lana Gilyun - more kids' photos here)

Last weekend we held the inaugural Try-This-Tri; it was a great success. We're calling it Cayman's first pool-swim tri. Nobody has proved us wrong!

The day favoured participation by families and beginners. The morning featured three different distances:
7am start - Sprint (800 m swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run)
8am start - Super Sprint (400 m swim, 3 mile bike, 1.5 mile run)
9am start - Kids Distance (50m swim, 1/2 mile bike, 1/5 mile run)

At the very end we tacked on a race running the length of a soccer field (OK, here it's a football pitch) for the younger brothers and sisters of the Kids Distance participants.

Results and course maps here: link

We appreciate Camana Bay, a planned mixed-use community, allowing us to use their great facilities. By operating there we kept the Super Sprint and Kids Distance events off the public roads, using a rectangle of interior roads that Camana Bay could close for us. And their 25m outdoor 8 lane pool is beautiful!

We had great volunteer support - 30 of us (I was marshaling at the Transition Area). Sponsors came through strongly with refreshments and spot prizes.

Special thanks to Corrine Fiesel, who had the get up and go to approach the Cayman Islands Triathlon Association about holding a pool-swim tri. Of course we turned around and appointed her race director, a role she fulfilled with distinction.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2/3)
Sunday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Again the zone 3 running on Saturday slammed me relatively hard. The previous week's running in zone 4 was easier on me.

A touch of inflammation around my right knee this morning - seems to have pretty much dissipated. Clearly I'm pushing soft tissue and muscle balance issues, but I would really like to get up to a 2 hour aerobic run sooner rather than later. 2 hours is as much duration as seems particularly useful just now - pretty much maximizes aerobic benefit versus time cost, and without a marathon or iron-distance tri looming I don't require more running endurance.

Saturday morning I volunteered at a 5K run put on by our local World Gym for their 15th year of operation. The triathlon association has a group discount there, so it seemed especially worthwhile to be a road marshall for them.

Sunday morning I volunteered at our "Try-this-Tri" It was a very successful event, and I will devote a separate little post to it before end-of-day Thursday.

The Week That Was

Wednesday: approx. 4.0 mile threshold run
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2/3)
Sunday: 1.25hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

I am fat, slow, and not adapted to local heat and humidity. Presumably, over time training will significantly change all that.

Zone 3 running Saturday afternoon left me slammed that evening. Zone 2 running on Sunday was not effortful. Useful indicators of the state of my base conditioning.

Threshold running on the asphalt and concrete did give me a touch of inflammation that quickly dissipated. I'm thinking I should add a couple of early morning half hour asphalt runs to build soft tissues, and drop my run with our Wednesday Night Run Club down to an aerobic level of pounding.